Meaningless
by John Sainsbury
I have recently been reading through the book of Ecclesiastes. It`s not altogether a jolly read, but so thought provoking! The Teacher (Ecclesiastes 1:1) seems to set out on something of a research project into the meaning of life (verse 13), and his stated conclusion might come as something of a surprise if you’ve never read the book before. `Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless` (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
Whoever the writer was (some think King Solomon, but we don’t know for sure), he undertakes a thorough investigation into what gives life meaning and purpose, and ultimately concludes that life lived under the sun is actually meaningless (Ecclesiastes 2:11). Some of us might think, “What a depressing conclusion!” but it’s his conclusion, nonetheless. So, the The Teacher`s advice is to make the best of it. Or, as he says, `Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom` (Ecclesiastes 9:10). As I pondered this, I realised that, if you don’t factor the coming of Jesus into the picture, it’s a fair summary of life as we know it.
However, the Teacher didn’t have the whole picture! Approximately 2000 years ago, Jesus, who died, was buried in a borrowed tomb. Documents from the time show that He died – He really did - and that seemed to be the end of the story. Except that it wasn’t! On the third day Jesus rose from the dead to confirm in no uncertain terms that there is more to life than ‘just life’. There was much that the Teacher in Ecclesiastes didn’t know.
Death is not the end of story. Jesus shows us this. And that means that, far from being meaningless, our lives in the here and now really do matter, because there’s a larger story at play. We may live for a few decades in this world and then die a physical death; but that isn’t the end. There’s actually a life beyond this one that really impacts how we live in the day to day.
So, maybe, if he were to be writing now, The Teacher might amend his conclusion to read something like this: “Whatever your hand finds to do, for King Jesus, do it with all your might, for He conquered the grave and has prepared a way for you to come to the Father, the fount of all wisdom”.
John Sainsbury and his wife Sue are part of the leadership team at Ellel Grange. John has served as a church leader for many years, most recently as Lead Pastor of the Garstang Free Methodist Church. He has a passion for seeing many brought into the fulness of life that following Christ brings.
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